The era of IOT. To safeguard your virtual and real world, what are the latest cybersecurity trends that you should look out for?

2016 is when anything can be connected with everything anywhere to anybody. The IOT opens up doors of both endless, exciting possibilities and at the same time creeping dangerous cyberthreats and crimes.

The concept known as the Internet of Things (IoT) is undeniably creating a buzz amongst businesses and downstream to the everyday man on the street. We’ve indeed come a long way since Nikola Tesla first toyed with the idea of a wireless world system back in the 1900s. But at the same, as the possibilities become more real so are the cyberthreats.

You’re on your way home after a long day in the office and all you want to do is to soak in a nice warm bath. Well, all you have to do is connect up one! It may sound like stuff of science fiction but given the continuous evolution and advancement of modern technology – it’s a reality that might just be waiting for you when you get home.

We live in a world where just about anything and everything can be connected.

In 2015, an estimated $1 billion dollars was lost to cybersecurity breaches and attacks with more than 300 million records reportedly leaked. One can only begin to imagine the number of lives that have been ruined. Cybersecurity is not only a business or an industry; it is arguably, a crucial component in our very well-being and existence.

So what are the latest cybersecurity trends that you should look out for in this IoT age?

“Better be despised for too anxious apprehensions, than ruined by too confident security.”— Edmund Burke, Author and Political Theorist

Cybersecurity Trend: BYOD! Off with the Headless Worms!

That smartwatch, phones or even many companies’ new culture of allowing BYOD (bring your own device) may not be so smart after all. Headless worms ‘feed’ on these devices causing a great damage. They can also cause severe damage to medical hardware devices like fitness trackers. The threat potential becomes substantially greater when you consider that the amount of connected and smart devices is expected to grow to fit the insatiable needs of businesses and individuals.

Cybersecurity Trend: Ransomware Everywhere

As the name implies, it involves affected users having to pay a ransom (an exorbitant amount at times) to be able to access their data that has been maliciously encrypted and restricted. It’s a lucrative business for hackers with reported losses amounting close to $325 million and counting, for businesses and users worldwide. Do you know that an average Russian ransomware boss makes at least US$90,000 a year?

Cybersecurity Trend: A Dark Cloud is Approaching

The reliance on Cloud services has seen an increase since its inception. The general idea and purpose is meant to make life easier for users but as it turns out, it’s making it even easier for hackers to access valuable data as well. This year, the industry is expected to grow by about 18.4% and this no doubt has hackers everywhere beaming with malicious anticipation. What you thought could make it easier for you on-the-go could be gone-in-a-second, literally.

Cybersecurity Trend: The Internet of Things

In what can only be described as akin to a Shakespearean tragedy, the concept that is supposed to better our lives can actually inflict equal if not more, harm. By 2020, 50 million devices are expected to be connected to the Internet and with it, the rise in the number of IoT hacks. As it is, there already a number of available online tutorials that teaches you to tinker with seemingly innocuous items such as baby monitors and alarm clocks. It may not be all fun and games because security researches have managed to hack a computer-assisted sniper rifle.

Suffice to say, in the very wrong hands, the Internet of Things could spell the end of everything.

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A Husband and Wife duo who run an independent online and social media business. Our passion is Inbound Marketing - combining Creative Writing and Digital Marketing Strategy - for medical aesthetics, design, advertising, fitness, medical, and lifestyle industries. Talk to us at we.are at biancazenkees.com. Thank you for reading! :)